Goodreads Ireland discussion
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which version of Amazon for Ireland?
My books are up on both. The kindle versions are only available from Amazom UK, but the print editions are only availablke from Amazom.com. I still haven't figured out why. I intend to follow this up with Amazon. Will keep you posted when I get a reply.Cheers,
Tina in West Cork
www.tinapisco.com
When it comes to book sales and record sale the UK and Ireland get treated as one market.Hope that helps.
Kate
It's Amazon.co.uk
Best of luck, Laurel.
Best of luck, Laurel.
But ordering Kindle books from Ireland means ordering from the .com site.
As I work on my website, I am finding Amazon VERY confusing. They have SO MANY variations on their site and they are not clear which version ships where and so forth. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to have ONE website and a person specifies in their own account their location (which I think you have to for billing information anyway) and then some check boxes for what countries they want purchases shipped to?This mess is wrecking havoc with my website. I want to provide links to each of my books in both print and digital formats displaying the price in each currency and with links to the right version. This should be a clear, easy, and orderly matter -- not the chaos I'm finding!
Amazon's marketplace is a nightmare. I'm sick of ordering items only to be told it can't be shipped to Ireland. And it's never clear from the offset.But I think with books, it's relatively straightforward. Everyone in Ireland orders from Amazon.co.uk
Kindle books (slightly confusingly) is indeed with Amazon.com
I think if you can stay away from Marketplace it should be relatively straighforward.
Conversley, I get all my (audio)books from Audible.com (not audible.co.uk). And Audible are an Amazon company. So my registered address on Amazon.com is something like "1 The Bronx, New York"! Because audible.com has a much broader selection. Though there are still some audiobooks only released to audible.co.uk. So sometimes I move back to Ireland for a few months! These geographical restrictions are such nonsense in the digital age.
Maria wrote: "But ordering Kindle books from Ireland means ordering from the .com site."Not anymore they can all be ordered on .co.uk changed last couple of weeks!
Amazon marketplace is probably not the best place to get a new, in print book -- at least if you care about the author getting paid. The people who sell books there are typically snatching them up cheap(wholesalers, freecycle, etc.) and then selling to you at or close to retail price.IMHO, if you are going to pay retail price for a book, then buy direct from the publisher (Amazon's publishing branch, CreateSpace.com, ships worldwide from ONE site -- not the dozen variations on Amazon's retail site), or at least minimize the distance between you and the author. It's common sense that the more steps between you and whoever makes a product, the less the person making it will be paid.
This applies to just about everything we buy -- from food to electronics to books and DVDs.
I have to laugh... last week, I received an alert from Google, which I had set up to follow any online mention of my books, that one of them was available in trade paper on Amazon Marketplace, USED, for $213.95!!
Richard wrote: "I have to laugh... last week, I received an alert from Google, which I had set up to follow any online mention of my books, that one of them was available in trade paper on Amazon Marketplace, USED..."And what do you want to bet it's not even a signed copy!
I think the signed ones are cheaper anyway.
Richard wrote: "I think the signed ones are cheaper anyway."
"Lol!"
"Lol!"
I'll have a look at the new Paperwhite. I had my heart set on Kobo Glo, but I don't want to be hasty.
I've never used kindle, but your post got me thinking: how slow could itd page turning be?
I've never used kindle, but your post got me thinking: how slow could itd page turning be?
I really just want the Kobo because of the new light screen. It's pretty swanky.
With Kobo's you can buy directly from their store, too, but I like their selection of free books. They have a few classics and a lot of sci-fi.
My Kobo Mini had page numbers and the percentage read. I still found I read faster. I might have built up some momentum turning the pages twice as much.
With Kobo's you can buy directly from their store, too, but I like their selection of free books. They have a few classics and a lot of sci-fi.
My Kobo Mini had page numbers and the percentage read. I still found I read faster. I might have built up some momentum turning the pages twice as much.
If you decide to read a sci-fi novel, don't be afraid to ask for recommendations.
I'd a few suggestions, and a couple other members really like their sci-fi.
I'd a few suggestions, and a couple other members really like their sci-fi.
I'd recommend Iain M. Banks's The Player of Games for a start. It's not very long but it works within the universe of Banks's Culture. (A society of living beings and sentient machines.) It work as concept and epic sci-fi.
Another I only read this year was Slaughterhouse 5 bt Kurt Vonnegut. It's more a war novel than sci-fi but I think you'd enjoy it.
If you're looking for good contemporary sci-fi I'd recommend the Sundering Trilogy by Walter Jon Williams. Not too keen on a lot of his other stuff but I really enjoyed that. My absolute preferred sci-fi writer is probably Jack McDevitt. His "Alex Benedict" series in particular manages to mix mystery and science fiction better than anything else I have read. As Declan says, the Iain M Banks Culture series is very good too.
I've never read Williams or McDevitt, Brian. I might give them a try.
Really recommend McDevitt, Declan. Would start with 'A Talent for War'. Everone has slightly (or very) different tastes, of course but I've read this several times and still enjoy it. Not such a fan of his 'Engines of God' series but its still a lot better than much of the stuff out there. Anyway, would be interesting to hear what you think if you ever get to it.
Littlemissmuffet wrote: "Was just browsing Amazon.uk and there's a new version of the kindle being advertised on their homepage- Kindle Paperwhite. Looks to have some new modifications- faster page turn etc and I really lo..."Same as me today. Went to Amazon and thought "Ooooh I want one of those". I use Kindle on my iPad1 but it's just that bit too heavy and is illegible out in the sun. So I definitely want a real Kindle at some stage and now that they've finally got decent backlights, it no longer trumps the iPad for nighttime reading.
Though I probably won't have to worry about reading in the sun much until next year!
Declan wrote: "I'd recommend Iain M. Banks's The Player of Games for a start. SNAP!!! Had that sentence in my head, and then somehow it magically appeared on the screen!
Declan wrote: "Another I only read this year was Slaughterhouse 5 bt Kurt Vonnegut. It's more a war novel than sci-fi but I think you'd enjoy it."I didn't get on so well with that one at all - but I have a tendency to find older books quite dated (even if they were classics and completely on point at time of publication). But, maybe that's just me.
Side by review of Kindle Paper Kindle Paperwhite Vs. The Kobo Glo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPnwOp...
(It's long, I haven't watched the whole thing yet)
Right! I have gone from wanting a Kobo Glo, to wanting A Kindle Paperwhite to wanting a Kobo Aura.
Nothing is ever straightforward. Harrumph!
Nothing is ever straightforward. Harrumph!
@John. I'm surprised about SH5. I though it was timeless.
Declan wrote: "I really just want the Kobo because of the new light screen. It's pretty swanky. With Kobo's you can buy directly from their store, too, but I like their selection of free books. They have a few ..."
I am also interested in the Kobo Glo. This may have been said but the problem I have with the Kindle is that it is tied to Amazon. I am trying to postpone the perhaps inevitable Amazon takeover of the world. I do buy some things from Amazon but I try to spread my $$$ around. I'm about to cancel my Amazon Prime account which I got to buy my son's textbooks for the semester and because I thought I'd get kindle books and movies for free. Well I only found one film I had any interest in watching and cannot borrow kindle books because I DON'T have a kindle which is required to "borrow" kindle books. If you pay for kindle books, you can read them on just about any device. Not true for the "free" kindle library connect to Amazon Prime.
You're paying for teh prime account and yet you can't download the free library to your device?
That's just plain wrong. It's a major mark against Amazon and Kindle.
That's just plain wrong. It's a major mark against Amazon and Kindle.
With you on that one, Barbara. I have a Kindle but prefer to get books from non-Amazon sources where there's no distinct difference between the two. Amazon have instigated some impressive technological and reading behaviour develomnets to date but it'd be foolish to put all of one's books in the same basket, so to speak.:}
One thing I like about Kindle is the free classics and some other books. I prefer a book in my hand though. I downloaded a few books to my laptop because I don't have a kindle yet. I ignored Kindle until very recently. Given the choice I wouldn't miss kindle if it disappeared. I love turning pages and holding a book. I am 50 so I like some of the old ways. I don't adapt as well as others LOL
Jamielynn wrote: "One thing I like about Kindle is the free classics and some other books. I prefer a book in my hand though. I downloaded a few books to my laptop because I don't have a kindle yet. I ignored Kindle..."There are many things I love about a physical book. The simple fact that others can see what you are reading! Once I was in Santa Fe New Mexico on my own eating at a fabulous organic upscale eatery Cafe Pasquale at the "communal table". I was reading the book "Reading Lolita in Tehran". Several people stopped to chat with me about the book. If you're reading an ebook, people can't see what you're reading and you are separated from the reading community. There are a few reasons why I buy e-books - to read brand new books that are only in hardcover (though I don't do that often), to have "back up" books when I travel because "God forbid" I am caught without something to read. I also bring paperbacks on trips for those times electronic devices have to be switched off, to start conversations :), and to give away. Ebooks are good options when a hardcover is huge and hard to handle or carry around. I like physical books because it is satisfying to be able to "see" in a real way how much of the book I have read. Also, it is easier in a physical book to go back if you need to reread a section.
I love turning pages and holding a book. I don't. Have always found it quite awkward. Particularly in bed. I think books are actually quite impractical. If you compare books and e-readers, not from a romanticly nostalgic viewpoint but a strictly functional one, ereaders win hands down I think.
The E-readers V real books debate always reminds me of stick shifts. Automatic cars are very easy to drive: no fumbling around with gear sticks. But car enthusiasts who learned to drive with a gear stick have no time for automatics, they want to feel that gear stick in their palm. That's how they learned how to drive, and they'll be darned with this new fangled nonsense.Yet if cars were originally designed as automatics, and anyone suggested adding a stick so you could change the gears manually, they'd be taken away by the men in the white coats.
John. Please don't send the men in the white coats to my house!! Hahaha! I will always love to hold a book in my hands while I am in the mental ward LOL I see where you prefer e readers though. I totally understand.
Ha, Ok. I've called them back. You can unlock the door again and get the books back out of the closet.
I'm not exactly a fence sitter on this one, but I haven't exactly taken sides, either. If I was pushed to choose, I'd always pick paper books.
Ereader Pros:
-Easy to hold
-Light weight
-Lots of storage
-You don't lose your page
-And recently they've been given snazzy back-lights
Ereader Cons:
-They can run out of power
-They don't smell like paper
-Friends can't sign them as gifts
-Your favourite authors can't sign them, either
-They don't fill your shelves
-Cover art doesn't look a fraction as good on a little screen
-You can't read them taking off and landing on a plane
-I've never found one in a hotel lobby
-I can't share a favourite book with friends once I've finished
-And most of all, having a book is just more satisfying than only having the words
Ereader Pros:
-Easy to hold
-Light weight
-Lots of storage
-You don't lose your page
-And recently they've been given snazzy back-lights
Ereader Cons:
-They can run out of power
-They don't smell like paper
-Friends can't sign them as gifts
-Your favourite authors can't sign them, either
-They don't fill your shelves
-Cover art doesn't look a fraction as good on a little screen
-You can't read them taking off and landing on a plane
-I've never found one in a hotel lobby
-I can't share a favourite book with friends once I've finished
-And most of all, having a book is just more satisfying than only having the words
Book shops are a big plus I forgot to mention. Thanks for reminding me, LMM. I love walking around all those shelves.
The font change is a pretty great feature, too. I'm disappointed I forgot about that.
The font change is a pretty great feature, too. I'm disappointed I forgot about that.
My Kobo Mini has the same feature but not for PDF files. If I want to increase PDF font sizes I have to crack them open enlarge them as text documents and then turn them back to PDFs again. It doesn't take too long, but just clicking a button on my Kobo would be much nicer.
"-Cover art doesn't look a fraction as good on a little screen"That's a real bug bear of mine actually. I'm wondering when book designers are going to get with the program and start producing variations of the original design that are tweaked for smaller screens. Old school book designers dragging their heels no doubt.
"-They don't smell like paper-Friends can't sign them as gifts
-Your favourite authors can't sign them, either
-They don't fill your shelves"
Yeah but my argument is that all these things above (not everything you mentioned) is romantic nostalgia. If ereaders where around first, no one would dream of making them smell, designing a place for people to write on them, or trying to invent some way that they can go from your pocket to taking up a wall of your house.
Look I love the smell of books, and I love a bookshelf as much as the next man believe me. And there was a time that I sniffed at ereaders. But from a purely functional interface standpoint, ereaders win hands down I think.
Apart from the battery running out :)
Oh and the sharing thing is a major bummer. Though they changed that recently; I loaned an amazon book to my wife. It expires after a certain amount of time. If I want to loan her an audiobook she just logs into my audible account on her iphone. I think this issue is going to improve. It needs to improve if they want to compete with piracy.
I actually haven't tried audio books I know I would like that!
Bear with me John I am slow to progress LOL!
Reading is one of those experiences that's full of romance for people, and having the book makes people feel more connected to the story. The words will.be the same, but there's more to it than that. LPs brought music into the home, Cassette tapes made it cheaper and CDs sounded better than either, but people still wanted to see the band live. Similarly, it's quite easy to reproduce great works of art and relatively cheap, but people still want to see the originals. Ebooks have the same words, but they're just digital data. When you read a book and you love the story you can then love the book. You can love it even more if it's signed.
They'll become increasingly scarce, I'm sure, but that will just make them more cherished.
They'll become increasingly scarce, I'm sure, but that will just make them more cherished.
I wasn't aware of strange pricing system, Allan. For the entire time I've owned an ereader, I never bought a book. They were all free classics.
I will always prefer to hold a book in my hands. I have no problem with people who prefer electronics though.
Allan and Barbara YES as long as people are reading the source isn't what's important it's the fact that we are reading.
Declan, me too. I haven't paid for kindle books either. I download the classics and new books being promoted. I downloaded them but didn't read them LOL! I am still reading library books. Some day I will read them though.
Allan and Barbara YES as long as people are reading the source isn't what's important it's the fact that we are reading.
Declan, me too. I haven't paid for kindle books either. I download the classics and new books being promoted. I downloaded them but didn't read them LOL! I am still reading library books. Some day I will read them though.
I can pick up classics for a euro or two in town, but when they're free online it just seems silly to spend money on them. My Kobo had paid for itself after a couple of months.
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So much of Beinarian culture is influenced by ancient and medieval Celtic societies (including and especially Ireland; but then as an American of Irish descent, I'm perhaps biased). I really want the correct links out there for my books!
I hope that makes sense!
Thanks for the help!